Lin and I are so sad to hear the news of Pat Gualtieri's passing. For many years, Pat served on the United War Veterans Council and as a spokesperson for veterans of New York City and the metropolitan area. Pat was the recipient of the "HeroVet" Award from Veterans Advantage. Having served his country, he went on to make significant and important contributions to our society as a whole.

A fellow Vietnam Veteran, Pat was a great leader and he poured out his heart and soul for all who served and their families. It wasn't that long ago that the NYC Veterans Day Parade was a poorly attended event, with marchers often stopping for traffic lights on Fifth Avenue. Through Pat's hard work and vision, the NYC Parade has been transformed into America's largest Veterans Day Parade. Americans across the country also share in the celebration, as the Parade is broadcast on television throughout the U.S. Much of this outpouring of appreciation and support of our veterans came thanks to Pat's dedication, persistence and absolute belief that America must thank those who serve.

As we march in this year's parade, we will be thinking of Pat all along the parade route. We will deeply miss his strength, commitment and inimitable sense of humor and showmanship.

We were pleased to have expanded our relationship with Verizon earlier this year when we included the FiOS double-play and triple play packages. You should check out Verizon’s latest special offer, which we just launched this week.

The savings opportunity is tremendous. In addition to up to $120 annual savings, $240 with a two year contract, you also can get up to $350 more in the form of a bonus Visa Gift Card with your two year agreement. In total, that amounts to $590 in cash back in your hands as a Veterans Advantage member.

Verizon FiOS's Veterans Advantage Discount combines the best value available for the general public, including special promotions, with an additional savings offer of $10 off monthly ($120 annually) for a qualifying “Triple Play Bundle” (TV, Internet & Phone) or $5 off monthly ($60 annually) on qualifying “Double Play Bundles” (TV, Internet or Phone).

New York has always had a special place in my heart with the founding of Veterans Advantage, over 15 years ago, when we began our mission to create greater respect, recognition and rewards to honor those who serve.

We are grateful to the City, Mayor de Blasio, and his Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Loree Sutton, for their vision in getting veterans increased access to veterans services and discounts with Veterans Advantage. We welcome this valuable support in creating better benefits, and enhanced access to them, for those who have served and continue to serve our country, and their family members. It is an innovative use of a public/private partnership to get our special benefits to this most deserving group of Americans. We hope that New York City’s initiative can serve as an inspiration to other leaders and public entities to follow suit with similar great programs.

In the meantime, we are immensely proud we can now honor the IDNYC cardholders with Veteran Designation, and welcome them as valued members of Veterans Advantage at www.veteransadvantage.com/idnyc.

With Independence Day weekend coming up and summer in full swing, it is time to take advantage of great travel savings options from Veterans Advantage.

Planes, trains, buses! With United Airlines, Amtrak, & Greyhound, you have a great package of benefits which cover you in the skies, on the nation's rails and by bus. Hats off to each of these partners for their dedication to those who served, continue to serve and their families. And be sure to check out our everyday cruise discounts for solid value.

The New York Historical Society (NYHS) – one of the country’s leading historical museums, in the heart of New York City -- is in the planning stages of a comprehensive exhibition about the Vietnam War. And they would like your help with this exciting project.

The NYHS wants to get it right when it comes to representing the experience of American service personnel (of all branches) in the Vietnam theater of operations. We want to offer your feedback to make sure they have it right.

So, they have asked me to ask you:

What items of your personal kit would you say absolutely MUST be on display at this type of exhibition?

What are the physical things that best represent what it meant to be there for you?

Here are some examples of the kinds of things we thought of for the Vietnam era:

As my fellow Army veterans would attest, this past weekend was a special one for us. It included the Army’s 240th birthday! Our friends at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs also hosted a special recognition of service on the Official Army Day in NYC, last Friday.

As he did last year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno hosted the Army's birthday celebration at Times Square in New York. I was there last year for this moving ceremony. Take a moment to thank your Army friends for their service.

And let’s not forget that Sunday, June 14, marked the 238th Birthday of the American Flag's adoption. If you are at a ball game or watching one on television, and the National Anthem is playing, pause to acknowledge our flag, the ultimate symbol of our country and the freedoms it represents.

Partners also helped us recognize the holiday. Dell, a Veterans Advantage partner since 2002, upgraded its discount for you with a special combinable 17% that lasted through the weekend.

Guests will have the rare opportunity to climb aboard an LCVP (Higgins boat) to get a feel for what it was like to hit the beaches of Normandy, France. Visitors can also participate in many commemorative events.

For those who served during that pivotal time in American history, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice, we give our thanks.

We hope you had a special Memorial Day. There is no greater obligation our nation has than to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Since the Civil War, on Memorial Day we honor those who have defended our freedoms with their “last full measure of devotion.” We are deeply grateful to them and their families.

ID protection is something we have found to be of critical importance to our community. According to the FTC, veterans and military report double the rate of ID theft than the general population, due to improper handling of government issued military IDs. At Veterans Advantage, we do not collect sensitive personally identifiable information. We do not rent, share or sell the information we collect. Ever. Our VetRewards Card is the secure ID solution for verification and redemption of military discounts.

As a Veterans Advantage member, I want to alert you about another threat to the security of your personal identity: free military discount sites, startups that get paid by retailers to verify military service records for retailers. These “free” sites offer military discounts that require you to upload a military ID (illegal), deployment orders, DD214 or other sensitive documents. Your other choice is to you give your highly sensitive personally identifiable information (SSN, DoB) and checkbox ‘permission’ to be verified by a government database.

Contrary to the marketing hype, even with your permission, these sites do NOT have authorized access to a government database to check for a retail discount. And, deeply buried in their privacy policy is the fact that if you decide to use the free site for just about anything, you unknowingly give them permission to sell your personal information to just about anyone.

This Memorial Day, we recognize and acknowledge those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today. Take a moment to reach out to the families you know who have lost loved ones in service to our country. They need to know that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten and that we are eternally grateful to them.

This month's HeroVet is Dr. Linda Schwartz the former Connecticut Commissioner of Veterans Affairs and recently appointed Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her life of service and sacrifice is an extraordinary and inspirational story. Be sure to read her HeroVet designation profile and pass it along.

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